Grain-car door



Sept. 2 1924. 1,507,175

C. W. HATFIELD GRAIN CAR DOOR Filed May 25. 1923 2 Shoots-Sheet 1 Gimme1924. Sept 2 C. W. HATFIELD GRAIN CAR DOOR Filed May 25. 1923 2Shanta-Shoot. 2

o u m 1H: a W L m Z 1 MW e i t Q m Patented Sept. 2, 1924.

CLYDE WALTER HATFIELD, OF EMERSON, IOWA.

GRAIN-OAR DOOR.

Application filed May 25, 1923. Serial No. 642,342.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLYDE WALTER HAT- FIELD, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Emerson, in the county of Mills and State of Iowa,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grain-Car Doors, ofwhich the followmg IS a specification.

This lnvention relates to certain new and useful improvements ingrain-car doors, and

. it has for its objects among others to provide a simple, cheap, yeteflicient and serviceable sectional grain-car door that can be readilyapplied by unskilled labor and which shall serve most effectually toprevent the escape of grain or other commodities which it is desired totransport in the car. 1 As a rule, railroad companies contract forgrain-car doors from the manufacturers,

s and the same are shipped by carload lots to division points andunloaded and piled up in large piles for distribution to smallerstations along the line when the agents order from five hundred to twothousand, more or. less, to a place where they have to be again handledafter being reloaded and shipped. This takes upextra cars which could beused for other purposes, in addition t0 the number of men required toreload them and then unload them, the latter taking the section force atthe station, all of which makes it an expensive transaction.Furthermore, in most places these doors are left where they areunprotected, and many are stolen and used by farmers and others. Inaddition to this, the grain-car doors are usually nailed to the cardoors by non-experienced men, with the result that the doors do notproperly fit, resulting in leakage of grain and other material, whichresults in a loss claim against the railroad company which amounts to avery considerable sum during the course of a year. Then again, when thecars reach f their destination the doors are torn off by is the paperwhich is employed, being nailed around the doors in an attempt to keepthe grain from leaking out. This is not necessary by the use of myvimproved door.

Another item which. amounts to many dollars during the year My improveddoor can be readily placed in position. It can be opened section bysection or all together as may be desired. It is always ready forservice, can be closed in a short time, no nailing required, and by theemployment thereof in most instances the car can be gotten ready for thetrain which is to take it to its destination in a short time so that thetrain will not have to wait and the car will not be left, thus savingone days delay in getting the contents to the market or to itsdestination.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appearand the novel featuresthereof will be particularly pointed out in theappended claims.

The invention is capable of embodiment in a variety of forms, anefiicient one of which is herein shown without, however, limiting myselfto the same.

The invention in such form is clearly illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, which, with the numerals of reference marked thereon, form apart of this specifi cation, and in which Figure 1 is the frontelevation showing a portion of a car equipped with one of my improvedsectional doors.

Figure 2 is an enlarged cross section on the line 22 of Figure 1,looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective detail of one form of locking means.

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail of a portion of one of the doors with apart in section.

Figure 5 is an edge view of Figure 4, with a portion broken away.

Figure 6 is an enlarged section on the line 6-6 of Figure 4, looking inthe direction of thearrows. i

Figure 7 is a section on the line 7-7 of Figure 1.

Figure 8 is a front elevation of one of the sections of the door on anenlarged scale, with portions broken away and parts in section.

Figure 9 is an enlarged perspective detail showing a portion of the rodand means for supporting the upper section of the door.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts throughout the severalviews.

Referring to the drawings+ 1 designates a portion of the wall of a car,and 2 the door opening therein. I

Within the car at one side of the said door openingis a post or block 3,while above the door opening therein is secured a rod or rail or thelike 4, supported n any suitablemain ner and forming a means on whichthe upper door is guided in its movements, in the present instance bymeans of staples or loops or sheet n'i'etaland comprising central panelportion 7 and hollow stiles 8, see Figure 7. 14's shown in the presentinstance the panel material is ertended at top and bottom and suitablyshaped to form the horizontal porlimit), the vertical member 10 and theliorizoutal pcrtionll, theverticalportion 12 the vertical member 14:connected with the-"very tical member 12 by the short horizontal member13,, and the member 14k terminating in the inwardly-extended horizontalmember 15, all as clearly seen in Figure 7. The other portion of the sheis formed by a piece of metal which is formed into the horizontal member16 at one end, from which extends the vertical and the '1nembers"9' and16 I have shown v angle irons 23 and 24 which are secured in anysuitable manner as seen at' eats the members 7 9and 16' so as toreinforce the same at these points and t'orma lightyet strong doorsection The doormay be composed ofas many seet'io-n's as maybe desired,in the present 111- stance shown as' composed of four, although this nummay be varied. The various sect-lonsare' .ranged upon the inside or thecar,

as ,seenin Figural and in Figure '1 which is" a fronte'levation'looking' tromfthe inside or the ear. The various sections canbe oper ated one at atinoe or all may be; actuatedin unisciit whennecessary. As above statedythe v upper section is supportedat the upperedge on thetrack as seen in Figure 1, and within the-lower rail thereofthere is mounted on a suitableaxl'e'orthe l1lr'e'26 a roller 27, of

'which there may be as many as one may dean 'neces's'ary,'which roller01'." rollers travel on atrack 38 formed on the next adjacent sectionandarrangedfwithin the lower hollow panel of the section as seen 111'Figure 6.

This roller-supportingtracl; may be of any desired and convenient form,but in the pres- 'ent instanceI have chosen toshowit as formed ofthestile of the next adjacentsection;

seerigure-e', the panel 7. being extended to engage theinner wall or thetop, horizontal member otthe stlle'to give .th'erequlsite strength andsupport for the roller, the de pending portion being designed to workthrough a slot between the horizontal members 15 and 2221s seen clearlyin Figure 6. The panel and the depending members of the panel inthisview are secured together outside the slotby suitable means 30, whichalso serve to secure thereon the angular reinforcing member 31 thehorizontal me'mb'er'of which serves to limit the downward movement orsag'of the next upper section. It to be noted that there is sufii'cientspace betweenthe l'io'rizontal members 15 and 22 and the horizontal'n'iembe'rs 11 and 18 to permit or any reasonable amount or sag of thesection within possible bounds without its binding. 1

' Within the hollow depending portion of the lower section of the doorthere is mounted on a suitable shaft or axle 33 a roller 34 that travelson a traclr li which is'arranged within a trough or channel 36 below thelevel of the floor or the car; or below the lower edge of the lowersection orthedoor. In the present instance this trough or channel isformed by themember 37, from which the track 35 is formed as seeninFigure 7. I The sectionsof the door are arranged so that they overlapto form tight joints and :turthers'o that when the one section is movedto closed position" the next adjacent section will be moved with it,providing it is open. One way of accomplishing this is by crimping theupper'edge of the wall 38'as'seen at 39- in Figure 8. The walls atopposite edges of the sections are as seen in Figure 8 ofdifterentheights, the one 'wall4f0 at one edge being of less height than the"wall at the other edge so as to leave at the latterpoint a dependingportion 41, as seen' in Fig'ure 8. v The panels or the sections arereinforced and-braced by the angle irons 42'as seen in Figures 2,4 and8, at their opposite vertical edges-J 1 Each section is shown asprovided with a handle near the front end of the section and at aboutthe mid height of the section asseen in Figures 1, 2 and 4:.Thesehandles serve as convenient means for opening the-sections. Theyare disposed-on the inside race or the sections except the top one wherethe handle is placed on the'outer race of the door," as indicated bydotted lines'in Figure 1-.- Each section may be locked in its closedposition in any suitable manner; in the present instance- 1 have showneach'as' provided' with a stapleor the like 44.1 01 co op'eratio'n witha pivotedhasp or the-like 45 fon a fixed member. 46. Each section. may,if desired, be provided with two of such fastening'devices, one near thetop and one near thebottom, asse'e'n in Figure 1,-with ll O - the like47 for cooperation with the hasp or the like 48 pivoted to the post orblock '3 as seen in Figure 2 and disposed angularly as seen clearly insaid Figure 2.

Furthermore, each section except/the top is provided with aspringa'locking device; this is arranged preferably near the top edge ofeach section except the top. It comprises a metallic bar 49 secured tothe under face of the upper portion of the underlying fa;e 50 of thesection, by s -.rews or the like,

as seen best in Figure 3 and at one end has the depending portion 51terminating in the free lateral member 52 which extends substantiallyparallel with the said underlying face 50, as clearly shown in said Figure 3. On the panel of the next lower sec tion is a lock case 53 111whlch is mounted .a spring bolt 54 the face of'which is beveled as seenat 55 in Figure 3, while extended from the upper face of the said lockcase is a lug 56 which terminates in the lateral member 57 whichoverlies the projecting end of the bolt 54 as shown. lVhen theonesection is closed with respect to the next, the member 52 will strikethe beveled end of the bolt and force the same inward against the actionof the spring thereof till the member 52 has passed the bolt when thelatter will be thrown outward by the spring and will engage in front ofthe member 52 and thus hold the section locked in closed position. Thebolt is provided with a finger piece 58 slidable in the slot 59 in thewall of the case as seen in Figure 3, and by which the bolt may beeasily withdrawn when it is desired to open the section.

On the edge of the door opposite to the edge carrying the'staples 44 isa member 60 similar to the member 49 just described, and which isdesigned to engage a similar lock 61 secured to the wall of the car insuch position, that when the section is thrown open and the door not inuse the bottom section will be automatically locked and thus all thesections will be held in such open position; the said lock is placednear the top of the bottom section as seen in Figure 1.

62 are uprights within the car which serve as guides for the sections ofthe door in their sliding movements and also to keep them in properposition and prevent rattling or undue lateral movement.

The member 46 hereinbefore mentioned has a flange 63 which is secured tothe post or block 3 by suitable means 64, the said member being madehollow as seen in Figure 2, being bent or shaped to form the main bodyportion 65 which lies against and is secured to the post or block 3 bythe same means that secures the flange G3, and the front wall to whichthe securing hasp 45 is pivoted, while the wall adjacent or cooperatingwith the adjacent stile of the door section, is formed as seen clearlyin Figure 2, with the indentedfor oppositely inclined wall forming a.trough or the like into which is adapted to snugly fit the oppositelyformed portion 66 on theside stile of the door se3- tion. The oppositeedge of the door is provided with the offset member 67 secured to itsstile as seen in Figure 2, and having the trough-shaped portion ormember 68 which is adapted to fit into the correspondingly shaped trough69 ot' the member 70 which is disposed between the stile 71 and the wall1 of the car. This gives offset grain tight interengaging members whichwill most effectually prevent leakage of the grain or othercommodityicarried in the car.

By trough-shaped member I mean a member in which the walls instead ofbeing right-angled to each other are upon inclined lines, so that whenthe two opposed troughshaped members are brought together, as seen inFigure 2, there is a wedging fit that precludes escape of the grain.

It is to be noted that the member 70 is the same thickness as the postor block 3 so that the door will move in a straight plane as it is slidback and forth, as seen in Figure 2. hen the sections are closed theseinterfitting portions will preclude escape of the material from the car.

It is further to be noted that the door is entirely within the confinesof the car and hence cannot be injured or damaged in any way duringtransportation, and no crow bars or thelike are required to open thesame when the car reaches its destination.

Modifications in details of construction, proportion of parts etc. maybe resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention orsacrificing any of its advantages.

YVhat is claimed as new is 1. A horizontally-slidable sectional graincar door, wedgingly interfitting troughshaped members interposed betweenthe stile of the door and a wall of a car, and a fixed upright betweenwhich and the said wall of the car said stile and its trough-shapedmemher is guided.

2. A grain-car door having its side portions provided with trough-shapedportions, that at one side being offset from that on the other side, andcorrespondingly offsetcooperating portions afiixed to the car forwedgin'g cooperation therewith.

3. A grain car door in sections movable independently of each other,overlapping means on said sections, and means whereby when one sectionis moved to closed position the next section. will be moved with it, thewalls at opposite edges of the sections being of different heights.

4. A grain car door in sections movable independently of each other,overlapping meanson said sections, means whereby when one'section-ismoved toclosed position the next section will be moved With it; theWalls at opposite edges of the sectionsbeing :of dif ferent heights, andcooperating locking de;- vices on-the-adjacent sections automaticallyengaged by the closing movement of one section with: relation to thenextadjacent one.

5. A grain-car door formed of'horizontally-slidable overlapping sectionsmovable independently of each otherymeans offset at one-edge of thesections for forming a tight joint between them, said means being ofoppositely xtended trough-shapes, means for locking each in closedposition, and means for looking themall in open position.

6. A grain-car door 'formed of horizontally-slidable overlappingsections movable independently of each other, means offset at one edgeof the sections for forming a tight joint between them, said means beingof oppositely extended trough-shape, means for locking each in closedposition, means for locking them all in open position, and rollersupports for one of the sections.

.7. A grain-car door'sectionhaving a hollow. rail, a roller carried bythe rail Within to form Wedging tight joints, that at one edge. beingoffset from the plane of the door to bring-the interfitting meansindifferent planes at oppositeedges of the door, and means forautomatically locking .t-heibottom section to hold all of the sectionsin open position. l:

9. A grain-car door-section comprising a panel and a stile-formed inpart of an'eX- tension of said panel, opposite edges of the panel havinghollow members one Wall of each of Which istrougli-shaped forcooperation With a relatively fixed trough-shaped part to form a tightjoint and a cooperating part secured'to thepanel and reinforced at itsconnection therewith.

- In testimony whereof I aflix my signature. CLYDE lVALTER HATFIELD. a

